The Puppet vs The Puppet Master

So last night I met up with my girl for an informal bite to eat at the local sushi spot on ave a – hours later we somehow found ourselves touring the nightlife scene with stops at WIP, Avenue and One oak – only to end up at Artichoke having a heated debate about one of my favorite, oops I mean obsessive topics: Artists and authenticity. Now in all fairness it is usually not a good idea to engage in this topic with me after a night of heavy drinking, due to the fact that my drunken passion may overwhelm you if you are not used to me; and or anger others who desperately dont want the ways of their ‘world’ challenged.

The question I am third-party posing is this:

If Art is an individual’s perception of the world, is it not imperative for the Artist to create his/her own material?

Meaning, so many mainstream popular artists today are merely puppets. Without disputing levels of talent, many artists become stars and showered with accolades for the creation yet the real creative geniuses lie in the shadows. I understand that this system seems to work well, as it has generated millions of dollars for the record labels – but money is never an adequate form of success to me. I feel that as human beings, we have created a limitless, dynamic world: we have electricity and airplanes, medical technology and computers; 2011 is an amazing time to be on Earth! – why can’t our popular artists not also be the mastermind behind their creation? why are today’s mainstream stars strings being pulled by puppet masters?

The answer is that we accept it. We know, we actually consider it a necessary evil – that’s just how it is.

Artists who write, and creative direct their own work are amazing to me. It takes courage, time and divine intervention coupled with face-to-face life experience. These are the messengers of God,.

I’m not saying that singing someone else’s lyrics, or using someone else’s creative contribution is not valid, clearly it is, I’m simply saying that the real creative genius should not be hidden in the shadows – the puppet master comes and takes his bow at the end of his performance.

How many people are really satisfied with a knock off piece of fashion? Even if it is a dope knock off, you still know its not the real thing by the way it feels… and when you see the real version you instantly notice the difference of ‘quality’. The street vendors have to grab their merchandise and make a run for it when the police come to hide their bootleg movies and knock off louis’, but these fake ass artists just be roaming the streets free.